Camden Air Toxics Project

Organization(s)

New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection

Project Description

Located at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the New Jersey Program for Manufacturing Excellence (NJME) provides no-cost P2 and energy efficiency assessments for New Jersey businesses, through a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP). Teams consisting of engineers, professors, and engineering students perform background research on a plant, and then spend one to two days on an in-plant audit. Within 60 days, a confidential report detailing the team's analysis and recommendations, along with estimates of related costs, performance, and payback period is sent to the plant manager. Six to nine months after this report has been submitted, NJME contacts the plant manager to see which, if any, recommendations have been implemented.

NJME has been invited to participate in the Camden Waterfront South Air Toxics Project, focused on identifying the sources predicted to pose the highest risk relative to other air toxics sources in the Camden, NJ area and finding ways to reduce the risk these sources pose. A workshop is planned in early July 2003, with approximately 30 representatives from businesses in the Camden area invited to attend. As a result of this workshop, it is expected that many of the businesses will contact NJME for a P2/energy audit that will result in recommendations to improve efficiency in their use of hazardous substances.

The Camden Waterfront South Air Toxics Project is funded through a grant received by the Air Quality Evaluation Group at the NJ DEP from the EPA. The NJME program is one of three programs coordinated at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Energy Systems (CAES). CAES is a multidisciplinary Center dedicated to the creation, development, and promotion of new technologies and practices in the field of energy systems. The Center's mission includes the dissemination of knowledge through education and technology transfer, and taking a leadership role in shaping the present and future of energy policy in the state and nation. Activities include research; education and outreach, which seeks to increase visibility, awareness, and impact within the state of New Jersey; as well as addressing problems of significant national interest.